§  1.946   Construction and coverage requirements.

   (a) Construction and commencement of service requirements. For each of
   the Wireless Radio Services, requirements for construction and
   commencement of service or commencement of operations are set forth in
   the rule part governing the specific service. For purposes of this
   section, the period between the date of grant of an authorization and
   the date of required commencement of service or operations is referred
   to as the construction period.

   (b) Coverage and substantial service requirements. In certain Wireless
   Radio Services, licensees must comply with geographic coverage
   requirements or substantial service requirements within a specified
   time period. These requirements are set forth in the rule part
   governing each specific service. For purposes of this section, the
   period between the date of grant of an authorization and the date that
   a particular degree of coverage or substantial service is required is
   referred to as the coverage period.

   (c) Termination of authorizations. If a licensee fails to commence
   service or operations by the expiration of its construction period or
   to meet its coverage or substantial service obligations by the
   expiration of its coverage period, its authorization terminates
   automatically (in whole or in part as set forth in the service rules),
   without specific Commission action, on the date the construction or
   coverage period expires.

   (d) Licensee notification of compliance. A licensee who commences
   service or operations within the construction period or meets its
   coverage or substantial services obligations within the coverage period
   must notify the Commission by filing FCC Form 601. The notification
   must be filed within 15 days of the expiration of the applicable
   construction or coverage period. Where the authorization is
   site-specific, if service or operations have begun using some, but not
   all, of the authorized transmitters, the notification must show to
   which specific transmitters it applies.

   (e) Requests for extension of time. Licensees may request to extend a
   construction period or coverage period by filing FCC Form 601. The
   request must be filed before the expiration of the construction or
   coverage period.

   (1) An extension request may be granted if the licensee shows that
   failure to meet the construction or coverage deadline is due to
   involuntary loss of site or other causes beyond its control.

   (2) Extension requests will not be granted for failure to meet a
   construction or coverage deadline due to delays caused by a failure to
   obtain financing, to obtain an antenna site, or to order equipment in a
   timely manner. If the licensee orders equipment within 90 days of its
   initial license grant, a presumption of diligence is established.

   (3) Extension requests will not be granted for failure to meet a
   construction or coverage deadline because the licensee undergoes a
   transfer of control or because the licensee intends to assign the
   authorization. The Commission will not grant extension requests solely
   to allow a transferee or assignee to complete facilities that the
   transferor or assignor failed to construct.

   (4) The filing of an extension request does not automatically extend
   the construction or coverage period unless the request is based on
   involuntary loss of site or other circumstances beyond the licensee's
   control, in which case the construction period is automatically
   extended pending disposition of the extension request.

   (5) A request for extension of time to construct a particular
   transmitter or other facility does not extend the construction period
   for other transmitters and facilities under the same authorization.

   [ 63 FR 68933 , Dec. 14, 1998, as amended at  69 FR 46397 , Aug. 3, 2004;
    71 FR 52749 , Sept. 7, 2006;  72 FR 48842 , Aug. 24, 2007]